loglog

The desk is almost too big for our living room. I put it there temporarily so the client could see it and admire it. And they did, although they also thought it was a bit big. But that’s what they ordered, and it will fit in their room, don’t worry.

I put plastic bags around the legs so one of the dogs (read Pepe) won’t lift his leg and pee on it. I’m glad I did because this morning I found a wet spot on the cardboard, but the bag had prevented worse. Bad dog.

It now has to be painted, and they asked me to do it, so I have to take it apart again and move it back to the basement. The legs and drawers come off but the top part is still very heavy. Alison almost perished when she helped me to take it up, so I’ll ask for a stronger person to help me this time: the client. Ha, that’ll teach ‘em.

In the continuing phone saga some new developments. After I registered my phone with the wireless phone company they told me my phone was already registered. I thought that was very strange since I got it out of the shrink-wrapped package, but whatever. A few hours later they called me back: “We’re going to send you a new phone. We’re afraid someone has tampered with your phone.”

So now I have two phones.

Fortunately the delivery this time was less of a hassle since they delivered it when I had a day off. To my surprise the new phone is the unbranded version of this model phone, costing twice as much if you don’t have a contract. It also doesn’t have as many standard pictures on it that I can’t delete, but still a couple of them. I don’t understand why they put stupid animations on phones and lock them so they take up space and clog the menus.

Unfortunately I found out that I can’t use either of these phones when I’m in the Netherlands, since the phone company doesn’t offer roaming there for Pay-As-You-Go customers. So I guess I’ll have to hack the phone so I can unlock it and put a Dutch SIM-card in it. But I’ll deal with that later.

For some reason I can’t upload pictures to my server. This is not working for a couple of days. Will resume logloging when I have fixed it.

[Update October 5: it appears to have something to do with our router, because here in Winnipeg everything works perfect.]

I currently (and probably for the next two months as well) work in a building without running water. There will be a toilet soon, but the bathroom has no doors yet, and no windows either. There also is no phone. And because Alison sometimes wants to make arrangements with me (pick up this or that food item; no, I can’t make movie night tonight since I’ve to work late, et cetera.) she told me to get a cell phone.

Your honour, please don’t punish me, she made me do it!

Getting the damn thing was a big hassle however. Since I want to update my address-book on my Mac I needed a phone with Bluetooth. Those phones are considered high end here (they are a bit behind in North-America) and since I’m cheap I didn’t want to pay too much for it. So I went for a branded phone for a Canadian music channel, which was half the price of the same phone ‘normal. These branded phones where not available in stores so I had to order mine online. So I did. Four days later, last Monday I found a big yellow sticker on our front door. That angered Alison, because it’s a invitation for burglars that nobody is home. But I digress. I called them to have the package delivered again, now on a time that I was home. “Sorry, we deliver between 8 and 5,” said the representative of UPS. “Well, there is nobody home at those times,” I replied, “but can I have it delivered to my wife’s work address?” “No, sorry, we can’t do that because you have to sign personally for it.” Okay, than have it sent to my work-address, but it’s a job site so nobody is there before nine, and I might be in the back and there is no bell. That’s why I need the phone.” I gave her the address and the [package was going to be delivered at our home address tomorrow (”the trucks are already loaded”) and at my work address Wednesday. So Wednesday I kept a half eye on the door and warned my co-workers that I expected a package. But at 5:30, still no package. At home I called them again and found out they made an attempt to deliver at 8:03 in the morning. Grrrr.
Okay, they will try again tomorrow. “But I’m working on a different address (another floor) tomorrow, I explained, so please change the delivery address?” “Okay, sir, we’ll deliver it there.

The next day, again, no package. When I came home I called them again. “O, sir we see the package has been delivered at 15:14.” “That’s impossible, I haven’t got it and I have to sign for it and show photo I.D.” “Well the driver claimed he has a signature from Mark…”

So my phone is lost. I have to call back Friday so they can do some research and ask the driver exactly where he delivered it, maybe it was the wrong address.

Friday I find out that the package is delivered to the ground floor address, where somebody lives who always complains about the noise we make, but she was away for the whole week. I call her anyway and she says: “Ah, I already thought why I got this cell phone. I found it on my front porch when I arrived this morning.”

So my phone was not lost anymore and Sunday I picked it up at her place, after the walk with the dogs.

So now I have a cell phone. But I won’t tell anybody my number.

A beautiful, warm day; time for a walk with the dogs.

It’s very loud in the park because there is a house music concert (boom boom boom), a bicycle race (”encore Áinq minutes”) and some kids event in a circus tent(”Venez tous dans le grand tent pour gagner des beaux prix”) at the same time. Plus the regular crowd for the neigbouring amusement park “La Ronde”.

So it wasn’t exactly a quiet, relaxing walk. But Poupoune swam to fetch the ball. And swam to fetch the ball, and swam and swam.

On top of all the renovations I’m doing, I also work in the evenings an weekends on a furniture project. It’s going to be a long desk with six legs and drawers in the skirt of the table. Because the desk will also be visible from the bottom when you take the stairs in the client’s house it has to also look good from below.

The construction is quite difficult because of the length, the drawers and the nice underside so I’ve already spent way more time on it than previously thought (and budgeted.) And it’s not yet finished. But I learned a couple of new techniques, and bought a couple of new tools. The legs are made of dark hardwood and the stretchers of hard maple, even though it will get painted. But when the wood is harder the paint won’t chip off as easily.

The rest of the construction is a good quality plywood with maple edges against wear and tear.

Cycling back from our regular movie night (it’s cheaper on Tuesday), I passed this speed sign a few blocks from our house, which showed the speed of passing cars… and bikes. I clocked 34 km/h myself, but of course I couldn’t take a picture of that.

The whole contraption is free-standing and solar powered, there are no cables. It’s just steel beams attached to a block of concrete. I guess they can easily move it around that way. There’s also no camera, so you don’t run the risk of getting a speeding ticket. In the Netherlands there are speed camera’s attached to almost every stop light. It’s very easy to get a ticket there, a bit too easy as I found out recently. On the way back from Switzerland to the Netherlands, we got lost somewhat (read: Alison misread the map) and a speed camera took a picture of of our rental car speeding exactly 8 Kms over the speed limit. Fine: 75 euros, which is about 100 Canadian dollars. What a waste of money.

Anyway, in Québec the chances of getting a speed ticket are quite low. Which is too bad because cars really speed in Montréal. At times I do as well, I have to admit. And on the highway almost everybody speeds. As long as you don’t drive 140 I think you’re fine.

Today I’m three years officially in Canada. It also marks the end of Alison’s sponsorship of me. From now on, if I need financial assistance by the gouvernment of Canada/Québec, they won’t come knocking on Alison’s door to ask the money back from her.

To celebrate this important day we went to an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant but refrained from eating too much sushi (we did that another time, and it didn’t feel too good) so we had enough room left in our stomachs to have cake afterwards. At another place because the Japanese cuisine is not exactly renowned for its cake.

The plums are ripe and I can reach them. Yay!

One of my Dutch readers asked about poutine. I was surprised I’d never mentioned it before but that’s actually not too strange: I usually don’t eat it.

Poutine is more or less Québec’s national dish: It consist of fries (often made of unpeeled potatoes and much softer than European (Belgian) fries, with cheese curds topped with beef gravy. It’s a very heavy dish and not at all suited for vegetarians. But tonight, before Alison and I went to the monthly Montréal web-loggers meeting, we went to “La banquise”, the restaurant next door of the web-loggers venue. They serve only poutine and but in 22 varieties. Poutine with lobster, with Foie Gras and also a vegetarian poutine, which we both took. The gravy is replaced by a vegetable sauce with mushrooms and red bell peppers and it tastes quite good. The only problem is that my stomach can’t digest potatoes very well so I tend to become very gassy afterwards.